Status of Same-Sex Relationships Nationwide

Contents

• Jurisdictions with marriage equality
• States that give the benefits and responsibilities of marriage but with a label of inferiority such as civil union or domestic partnership
• States that give some or many protections with statewide non-marriage laws such as domestic partnership, reciprocal beneficiary or other laws
• States that respect out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples
• States that give limited domestic partnership benefits to state employees (not including states listed in prior categories that provide broader protections)
• Native American tribes that allow same-sex couples to marry
• States with constitutional amendments empowering legislature to restrict marriage
• States with constitutional amendments restricting marriage
• Text of state constitutional amendments targeting same-sex relationships

Jurisdictions With Marriage Equality

• California (estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who married in 2008 remain married but marriage limited to different-sex couples after November 5, 2008, by Proposition 8)
• Connecticut
• Delaware, effective July 1, 2013
• District of Columbia
• Iowa
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota, effective Aug. 1, 2013
• New Hampshire
• New York
• Rhode Island, effective Aug. 1, 2013
• Vermont
• Washington

States That Give the Benefits and Responsibilities of Marriage but With a Label of Inferiority Such as Civil Union or Domestic Partnership

• California - Broad Domestic Partnership Law
• Colorado - Civil Union Law
• Hawaii - Civil Union Law 
• Illinois - Civil Union Law
• Nevada - Broad Domestic Partnership Law
• New Jersey - Civil Union Law
• Oregon - Broad Domestic Partnership Law
• Washington - Broad Domestic Partnership Law for Senior Couples

States That Give Some or Many Protections With Statewide Non-Marriage Laws Such as Domestic Partnership, Reciprocal Beneficiary or Other Laws

• Colorado - Designated Beneficiary Agreements Law
• Hawaii - Reciprocal Beneficiaries Law
• Maine - Limited Domestic Partnership Law 
• Maryland - Limited Domestic Partnership Law
• Vermont - Reciprocal Beneficiaries Law
• Wisconsin - Limited Domestic Partnership Law

States Without Marriage Equality That Respect Out-of-State Marriages of Same-Sex Couples

• California (by statute, pre-November 5, 2008, marriages honored as marriages and later out-of-state marriages treated as registered domestic partnerships)
• Hawaii (out-of-state marriages treated as civil unions)
• Illinois (out-of-state marriages treated as civil unions)
• New Jersey (out-of-state marriages treated as civil unions)
• New Mexico (per Attorney General opinion but not confirmed by court)

States That Give Limited Domestic Partnership Benefits to State Employees (Not Including States Listed in Prior Categories That Provide Broader Protections)

• Alaska
• Arizona (eliminated by state budget vote in 2010, but continued by court order in Lambda Legal’s Diaz v. Brewer lawsuit)
• Montana
• New Mexico (listed here because Attorney General opinion not yet confirmed by court)

Additional resource:

Examples of States That Provide Benefits to Same-Sex Partners of State Employees

Native American Tribes That Allow Same-Sex Couples to Marry

• Coquille
• Squamish
• Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians

States with Constitutional Amendments Empowering Legislature to Restrict Marriage

• Hawaii

Additional resource:

Text of State Laws and Constitutional Amendments Targeting Same-Sex Relationships

States With Constitutional Amendments Restricting Marriage

Additional resource: Read the laws themselves.

Text of State Laws and Constitutional Amendments Targeting Same-Sex Relationships